Access to essential technologies for safe childbirth: a survey of health workers in Africa and Asia

Background: The reliable availability of health technologies, defined as equipment, medicines, and consumable supplies, is essential to ensure successful childbirth practices proven to prevent avoidable maternal and newborn mortality. The majority of global maternal and newborn deaths take place in Africa and Asia, yet few data exist that describe the availability of childbirth-related health technologies in these regions. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of health workers in Africa and Asia in order to profile the availability of health technologies considered to be essential to providing safe childbirth care. Methods: Health workers in Africa and Asia were surveyed using a web-based questionnaire. A list of essential childbirth-related health technologies was drawn from World Health Organization guidelines for preventing and managing complications associated with the major causes of maternal and newborn mortality globally. Demographic data describing each birth center were obtained and health workers reported on the availability of essential childbirth-related health technologies at their centers. Comparison analyses were conducted using Rao-Scott chi-square test statistics. Results: Health workers from 124 birth centers in 26 African and 15 Asian countries participated. All facilities exhibited gaps in the availability of essential childbirth-related health technologies. Availability was significantly reduced in birth centers that had lower birth volumes and those from lower income countries. On average across all centers, health workers reported the availability of 18 of 23 essential childbirth-related health technologies (79%; 95% CI, 74%, 84%). Low-volume facilities suffered severe shortages; on average, these centers reported reliable availability of 13 of 23 technologies (55%; 95% CI, 39%, 71%). Conclusions: Substantial gaps exist in the availability of essential childbirth-related health technologies across health sector levels in Africa and Asia. Strategies that facilitate reliable access to vital health technologies in these regions are an urgent priority

Improving Quality of Care for Maternal and Newborn Health: Prospective Pilot Study of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist Program

Background: Most maternal deaths, intrapartum-related stillbirths, and newborn deaths in low income countries are preventable but simple, effective methods for improving safety in institutional births have not been devised. Checklist-based interventions aid management of complex or neglected tasks and have been shown to reduce harm in healthcare. We hypothesized that implementation of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist program, a novel childbirth safety program for institutional births incorporating a 29-item checklist, would increase delivery of essential childbirth practices linked with improved maternal and perinatal health outcomes. Methods and Findings A pilot, pre-post-intervention study was conducted in a sub-district level birth center in Karnataka, India between July and December 2010. We prospectively observed health workers that attended to women and newborns during 499 consecutively enrolled birth events and compared these with observed practices during 795 consecutively enrolled birth events after the introduction of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist program. Twenty-nine essential practices that target the major causes of childbirth-related mortality, such as hand hygiene and uterotonic administration, were evaluated. The primary end point was the average rate of successful delivery of essential childbirth practices by health workers. Delivery of essential childbirth-related care practices at each birth event increased from an average of 10 of 29 practices at baseline (95%CI 9.4, 10.1) to an average of 25 of 29 practices afterwards (95%CI 24.6, 25.3; p<0.001). There was significant improvement in the delivery of 28 out of 29 individual practices. No adverse outcomes relating to the intervention occurred. Study limitations are the pre-post design, potential Hawthorne effect, and focus on processes of care versus health outcomes. Conclusions: Introduction of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist program markedly improved delivery of essential safety practices by health workers. Future study will determine if this program can be implemented at scale and improve health outcomes.

Predictors of Mortality Up to 1 Year After Emergency Major Abdominal Surgery in Older Adults

ackground The number of older patients who undergo emergent major abdominal procedures is expected to increase yet little is known about mortality beyond 30 days after surgery. Objective Identify factors associated with mortality among older patients at 30, 180 and 365 days after emergency major abdominal surgery. Design A retrospective study of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) linked to Medicare Claims from 2000-2010. Setting N/A Participants Medicare beneficiaries > 65.5 years enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from 2000-2010, with at least one urgent/emergent major abdominal surgery and a core interview from the HRS within 3 years prior to surgery. Main Outcomes and Measures Survival analysis was used to describe all-cause mortality at 30, 180 and 365 days after surgery. Complementary log-log regression was used to identify patient characteristics and postoperative events associated with worse survival. Results 400 patients had one of the urgent/emergent surgeries of interest. Of these 24% were > 85 years; 50% had coronary artery disease, 48% had cancer, and 33% had congestive heart failure; and 37% experienced a postoperative complication. Postoperative mortality was 20%, 31% and 34% at 30, 180 days and 365 days. Among those > 85 years, 50% were dead one year after surgery. After multivariate adjustment including postoperative complications, dementia (Hazard ratio (HR) 2.02, 95%CI 1.24-3.31), hospitalization within 6 months before surgery (HR 1.63, 95% CI 1.12-2.28) and complications (HR 3.45, 95%CI (2.32-5.13) were independently associated with worse one-year survival. Conclusion Overall mortality is high up to one year after surgery in many older patients undergoing emergency major abdominal surgery. The occurrence of a complication is the clinical factor most strongly associated with worse survival

Mortality and Readmission After Cervical Fracture from a Fall in Older Adults: Comparison with Hip Fracture Using National Medicare Data

Background Cervical fractures from falls are a potentially lethal injury in older patients. Little is known about their epidemiology and outcomes. Objectives To examine the prevalence of cervical spine fractures after falls among older Americans and show changes in recent years. Further, to compare 12-month outcomes in patients with cervical and hip fracture after falls. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective study of Medicare data from 2007–2011 including patients ≥65 with cervical fracture and hip fracture after falls treated at acute care hospitals. Measurements Rates of cervical fracture, 12-month mortality and readmission rates after injury. Results Rates of cervical fracture increased from 4.6/10,000 in 2007 to 5.3/10,000 in 2011, whereas rates of hip fracture decreased from 77.3/10,000 in 2007 to 63.5/10,000 in 2011. Patients with cervical fracture without and with spinal cord injury (SCI) were more likely than patients with hip fracture, respectively, to receive treatment at large hospitals (54.1%, 59.4% vs. 28.1%, p< 0.001), teaching hospitals (40.0%, 49.3% vs. 13.4%, p< 0.001), and regional trauma centers (38.5%, 46.3% vs. 13.0%, p< 0.001). Patients with cervical fracture, particularly those with SCI, had higher risk-adjusted mortality rates at one year than those with hip fracture (24.5%, 41.7% vs. 22.7%, p<0.001). By one year, more than half of patients with cervical and hip fracture died or were readmitted to the hospital (59.5%, 73.4% vs. 59.3%, p<0.001). Conclusion Cervical spine fractures occur in one of every 2,000 Medicare beneficiaries annually and appear to be increasing over time. Patients with cervical fractures had higher mortality than those with hip fractures. Given the increasing prevalence and the poor outcomes of this population, hospitals need to develop processes to improve care for these vulnerable patients